Three former associates of Jack Abramoff say the now-convicted lobbyist frequently told them he had strong ties to the White House through presidential confidant Karl Rove.The White House said Monday night that Rove remembers meeting Abramoff at a 1990s political meeting and considered the lobbyist a "casual acquaintance" since President Bush took office in 2001.New questions have arisen about Abramoff's ties to the White House since a photo emerged over the weekend showing Abramoff with Bush. The White House would not release the photo or any others that Bush had taken with Abramoff. Also surfacing were the contents of an e-mail from Abramoff to Washingtonian magazine claiming he had met briefly with the president nearly a dozen times and that Bush knew him well enough to make joking references to Abramoff's family.... http://seattletimes.nwsource.com

The deadly H5N1 bird flu virus has been confirmed in swans in Austria. Austria's health authorities said the cases in two dead wild swans were the first to be found in the country. The H5N1 strain, which can be deadly to humans, was also confirmed on Saturday in neighbouring Italy, as well as in Greece and Bulgaria. The swans were among 21 dead wild fowl examined in Austria. They were found at Mellach, near Graz, where restrictions on poultry are now in effect. The authorities have set up a protection zone within a three-kilometre (two-mile) radius of Mellach and a 10km surveillance zone beyond that. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4713536.stm

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Leading presidential candidate Rene Preval said Tuesday that "gross errors and probably gigantic fraud" marred last week's elections, a day after thousands of his supporters stormed a luxury hotel, accusing election officials of manipulating vote counts to deprive him of a first-round victory. ...http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-02-14-haiti-elections_x.htm?csp=34

A federal judge rule Tuesday that Zacarias Moussaoui will not be in the courtroom for jury selection at his upcoming death-penalty trial, after Moussaoui again defied the judge at a pre-trial hearing. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema said her main reason for holding Tuesday's hearing was to determine "how Mr. Moussaoui plans to behave ... whether you plan to remain quiet ... or whether you plan to make speeches." Moussaoui, a French citizen of Moroccan origin who pleaded guilty last April to conspiring with al Qaeda to use aircraft to target U.S. buildings, then pulled out what appeared to be a handwritten speech and berated the judge for ignoring his rights. ...http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/14/terror/main1315003.shtml?CMP=OTC-RSSFeed&source=RSS&attr=U.S._1315003

An Israeli court sentenced the eldest son of Israel's incapacitated prime minister, Ariel Sharon, to nine months in prison on Tuesday for illegally raising funds for his father's 1999 primary election campaign.Omri Sharon pleaded guilty in November to falsifying corporate documents, perjury and violating party funding laws. Under a plea deal, prosecutors dropped charges of fraud and breach of trust but demanded imprisonment on the other counts. He resigned his parliamentary seat in January, in anticipation of the sentencing.Ariel Sharon was not charged in the affair.The charges carried a maximum of five years in prison. Under Israeli law, a legislator convicted of an offense defined as one of "moral turpitude" must resign.In sentencing the prime minister's son, the Tel Aviv District Court said Omri Sharon would also be on probation for an additional nine months and would have to pay a fine of 300,000 shekels ($64,000) ....http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/02/14/israel.sharon.ap/index.html?section=cnn_world

People who believe the Constitution would break if it didn’t change with society are “idiots,” US Supreme Court Justice Scalia says. In a speech Mon sponsored by the conservative Federalist Society, Scalia defended his long-held belief in sticking to the plain text of the Constitution “as it was originally written & intended.” “Scalia does have a philosophy, it’s called originalism,” he said. “That’s what prevents him from doing the things he would like to do,” he told more than 100 politicians & lawyers from this US island territory. According to his judicial philosophy, he said, there can be no room for personal, political or religious beliefs. Scalia criticized those who believe in what he called the “living Constitution.” “That’s the argument of flexibility & it goes something like this: The Constitution is over 200 years old & societies change. It has to change with society, like a living organism, or it will become brittle & break.” “But you would have to be an idiot to believe that” ...http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11346274/from/RSS/